fidget spinner

Although some proponents claimed therapeutic benefits for conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism, empirical studies have not substantiated these claims. Reception was mixed, with reports of both positive user experiences and criticism regarding classroom disruptions and safety concerns.

• Name — Fidget spinner • Inventor — Scott McCoskery • Type — Stress-relieving toy, fidget toy • Country — United States • From — 2014 • To — present • Materials — Brass, stainless steel, titanium, copper, plastic, etc.

• Illustration — A fidget spinner being spun Fidget spinners are typically made of rubber or metal, with a central ball bearing and several prongs extending outward. The ball bearing consists of small metal balls that roll between an inner and outer race, allowing the spinner to rotate smoothly around its axis. When a prong is flicked, the spinner rotates around the bearing with minimal resistance due to the rolling motion of the balls inside the bearing. The design also distributes mass away from the center, increasing the moment of inertia, which helps maintain rotational motion. As the spinner rotates, it behaves like a gyroscope, resisting changes to its orientation due to angular momentum. Over time, the speed of rotation decreases following an exponential decay pattern, meaning that while it slows gradually, it cannot spin indefinitely.

• Illustration — Spinner "Bomblet" On May 11, 2016, Michael Scott McCoskery filed a provisional patent application for a toy incorporating a centrally mounted ball bearing and specific design features. The application included illustrations of two- and three-lobed variants. A final application was submitted in May 2017, and a U.S. utility patent was issued in March 2018. Separately, on November 29, 2016, David Allen Pavelsky of Killeen, Texas, filed for a design patent on a three-lobed spinner with a central ball bearing. Unlike McCoskery's application, Pavelsky's focused on the visual design rather than functional aspects. He was granted a U.S. design patent in October 2017. By May 2017, no patent had yet been granted for what was popularly known as the fidget spinner, despite increased consumer interest. Media reports from outlets including The Guardian and The New York Times incorrectly identified Catherine Hettinger, a chemical engineer, as the inventor; Hettinger had actually filed a patent application in May 1993 for a "spinning toy" resembling a "finger frisbee" or "finger hat." The patent was issued in January 1997, but it lapsed in 2005 due to a lack of commercial interest. A May 2017 Bloomberg News article stated that Hettinger’s design did not include the central bearing characteristic of modern fidget spinners. In a May 4, 2017 NPR interview, Scott McCoskery described developing a metal spinning device called the "Torqbar" around 2014 to manage his fidgeting during meetings and conference calls while working in the information technology sector in the Seattle, Washington, area. He stated that he believed it was the first version of what became known as the modern fidget spinner. At the request of an online community, he began selling the device online.